Iron Rose
by redpetal888
Summary: He had been watching her. Waiting. Admiring, but never touching. Never making her aware of the affections he held. It was torturous, the longing that he felt. And finally, he snapped. What will happen now? (Yandere!GajeelxReader)
1. Part 1

It had been a while since you had last seen your best friend, Natsu Dragneel. You were wondering where he had been- normally he showed up at the guild hall with Lucy around 8 in the morning, so when it became 12 in the afternoon you were starting to get a little bit worried. You were supposed to go on a job together with Gray and Erza, so you had been expecting he'd arrive early. But that proved to not be the case, apparently.

You sat down at the edge of a table by the bar, listening to the rowdy noises going on around you.

 _Hmm,_ you thought. _I wonder where he could be..._

It wasn't long before someone approached you from behind, you could tell by their heavy footsteps. It was a familiar sound, one you were guessing belong to-

"Hey there," a gruff and sort of snarky sounding voice said at you. You turned to see Gajeel Redfox in all of his...glory. It nearly sent a shiver down your spine. You weren't used to having people like him approach you, since you were a little bit weaker than Natsu and most people didn't like to get on Natsu's bad side by challenging you.

"Umm...hello," you said softly, a little bit of shyness leaking out in your voice. It made you want to curse, you didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone. A low chuckle from him sent yet another chill down your spine. You turned around, looking for someone, anyone that might be able to save you from this encounter. But for some strange reason, there was no one. The guild hall was suddenly completely empty except for you two.

 _Strange...when did that happen?_ You couldn't spare much time to think about it because suddenly a large hand was clamping down on your shoulder, dragging you out of your worried thoughts.

"U-Um, what are you doing?" You squeaked, trembling slightly in fear. He only laughed.

"I like you, (y/n). I like you a lot. What do you say we...go out, some time?" In all honesty that was not the answer you were expecting. You had been thinking something along the lines of "I'm going to kill you and leave your body somewhere where no one will ever find it." You supposed you owed that to your paranoia, something that continually got in the way of your social encounters. Natsu, Erza, and Gray were the only ones who really didn't trigger your anxiety. That was because they had always been nice to you- whereas, Gajeel on the other hand, had not always been so nice. He was one of the ones who seemed to get enjoyment out of teasing you. So why was he suddenly acting nice and asking you on a date?

"So, do I have an answer?" His voice once more brought you out of your thoughts and you looked up into his bright red eyes.

"I...um...well...I-I thought you liked Levy," you stammered, looking up at him nervously. He burst out laughing.

"The shrimp? No, no. She's just a friend. It's _you_ that I really want." This caused a bright red blush to form on your cheeks. Despite not really having feelings for anyone, it still gave you butterflies in your stomach to know that someone was interested in you.

"Well...I'm sorry, Gajeel, it's just that...I like..I like someone else," you lied. Almost instantly the man's entire demeanor changed from nonchalant and friendly to cold and hostile. His bright red eyes narrow in your direction, and once more you feel anxious in his presence.

"I see...it's the flame-head, right? I mean, that's who you're always hanging around. It makes sense I suppose." You didn't know how to answer this question. If you said yes, that could mean that Gajeel would tell Natsu about it and you'd have another mess on your hands if he decided he liked you too. If you said no, Gajeel might question you until you gave out a false name. So which was the better option? Eventually, you decided on the first one.

"Yeah, I like Natsu," You said softly. "Listen, Gajeel, I'm really sorry. I just...maybe we could still be friends? Like you and Levy?" He stared at you coldly, and that gives you reason to believe that the answer is a no.

Without saying anything, he got up and started to leave the room.

"Have fun with him," he growled, stepping out of the guild hall and slamming the door behind him. You sigh.

 _Well, that could have been worse_ , You thought to yourself. You got up, looking around the empty guild hall.

 _If Natsu and the others aren't going to show up, I might as well go home_ _for the day_. And so you did.

* * *

The next morning, Natsu still was no where to be found. And this time, neither was Gajeel. As you stepped into the rowdy guild (thankfully not being the only one there this time), your eyes were searching for your teammates. Lucy was there,smiling, so you assumed she must know Natsu's whereabouts, which calmed your nerves. A slight smile graced your lips. Perhaps he had just gotten over-excited and gone on the job on his own. That was something he used to do rather frequently before Lucy came to the guild, so you supposed that it was what he was doing now.

"Hey, (y/n)!" Lucy suddenly called at you, coming up and putting a hand on your shoulder. You turn and smile nonchalantly at her.

"Yes?" You asked, wondering what she was going to say or ask.

"Have you seen Natsu around lately? I haven't seen him in a couple of days, and he didn't tell me if he was going to be going out on a job by himself or not like he usually does." Cue the end of your smile. Instantly the happy aura around you drained and was replaced by one of fear and worry.

"I...I don't know," You answered slowly. Lucy's smile faded as well, replacing itself with one of obvious anxiety.

"This is unlike him...he never leaves without telling us..." You sighed gently.

"Perhaps we should go looking for him? We could get Laxus to smell his scent...or Gajeel...but I don't know where they are either." Lucy shrugged.

"That's as good an idea as any," she said. "We'll start in a little while, alright? I'm going to go get Erza and Gray and see if they can help us." You nodded, watching Lucy as she disappeared into the crowd of the guild. By this point, you were more than a little worried that something bad had happened to your friend. It made you want to cry- if something had happened to Natsu, what would you do? He had been your best friend for years now, and had always been there for you.

"Hey," a gruff voice said from behind you. You turned to see Gajeel, your stomach dropping.

"Yes?" You asked, looking at him cautiously, in case he was going to be hostile like the previous night. He looked at you with a bit of amusement in his eyes.

"I know where Natsu is," he said. "I can show you if you like. He's been training really hard, working on a new fire spell. He hasn't been able to come back here for a while, since, well...it's pretty destructive." Your eyes lit up at his words.

"Show me! Please, Gajeel!" You begged. He chuckled and took hold of your arm, pulling you out of the guild hall.

"It's right this way," he told you. You nod and walk with him, not minding the slight physical contact. You were thinking that perhaps you and Gajeel, despite how things had turned out the previous night, could be the best of friends. He was nice enough to Levy, and they were friends, so why couldn't _you_ be friends? A smile adorned your face as you headed down the road. He grinned and led you into the forested area of Magnolia.

You looked around, and as you got further into the forest you began to notice burn marks on the trees. It appeared that Natsu had been here after all, and Gajeel was not lying. But what made you curious was that there were also strange formations of metal- this made you nervous. What if..what if Gajeel had done something to Natsu? Your breathing began to speed up and adrenaline began to pump in your veins.

 _I have to get out of here...but how?_ All of a sudden a sudden blow to the back of your neck caused you to stumble and fall to the ground right before darkness overtook you. The last thing you saw was Gajeel's smirking face, looking down at you in amusement.

"Goodnight, love," he purred.

*End of Part One*

(A/N: This is a first. I haven't done Yandere before. Part two should come soon.)


	2. Part 2

The next thing you knew, you were sitting down on something hard, in complete darkness except for a small flickering light which you guessed to be some sort of candle. You look around. The first thing you realized was that the air was filled with the pungent smell of blood- worriedly, you glanced down at yourself, trying to tell if it was your own. To your relief, it was not- you felt no pain, except for a little bit of soreness in your neck where Gajeel had hit you. You looked around, trying to get used to the darkness so you could see what was in the room with you- and what the source of that irony blood smell was.

A low chuckle sent shivers down your spine. You tried to move and get up, but you almost fell back down when you felt resistance tugging on one of your ankles. You glance down to see that there is a chain cuff connected to your leg, most likely made out of iron.

 _Shit._

You look around worriedly, trying to find something to break it with, but you are left with nothing. Another chuckle rang out throughout the room and you jump, tripping and falling onto the floor with a loud thud.

"You really thought I'd let you see Natsu, after learning he was my rival?" Gajeel's voice called out to you, low and cat-like as if he was a predatory beast that was planning to eat you. Maybe he really was planning to eat you, you wouldn't put it past him at this point. Tears began to streak down your face, and you let out a soft whimper.

"What...what did you do to Natsu?" You asked, trying to remain strong but at the same time, unable to stop the tears from flowing down your skin. Gajeel only laughed, sending more chills down your spine.

"Look around you, (y/n). You can smell the iron, can't you? It's not just me." Gajeel threw his head back and then started to laugh uncontrollably. You froze in place, fear running through your body. Was he...did he mean...the blood smell, was of Natsu's blood? You looked around, trying to be sure, before you noticed a large and oblong lump in the corner of the room. You squinted, hoping to god that it wasn't Natsu's corpse. You inched forward as much as the chain allowed, and touched the lump. It was indeed a dead body, but you couldn't tell if it was Natsu's in this light.

"P-Please," you stammered, "Please don't be Natsu..."

Gajeel snickered and then turned on the lights, and you held back a scream. There, in the corner, was the cadaver of your best friend, mutilated practically beyond recognition. His eyes were gone, gouged out, and his stomach was ripped open- his intestines spilling out of his body, his skin coated in crimson and pools of his vital bodily fluids decorating the floor. Before you know what's happening, you lurch over, vomiting, the vile sight being more than your stomach can handle.

"N-Natsu..." You hear a low wailing, and it takes a few moments for you to realize that it is the sound of your own voice, as another round of tears spills down your wet cheeks.

A low growl from Gajeel makes your stomach twist into knots.

"What do you want?!" You cry out, stumbling backwards and almost hitting your head on the stone wall. You were currently alone with a killer, in his basement, and Natsu was dead. And, if you had to guess, you would think that your captor would kill anyone that tried to rescue you. That gave you a torn sort of feeling. But, before you could think much more about it, he cuts you off in giving you the answer you had cried out to him for.

"What I want? That's a funny thing to ask. Haven't you figured it out? It's kind of obvious, you know. I want... _you_ , (y/n). I told you that before. Because I love you." Your stomach lurches and you feel your stomach twisting further, retching a couple of times but nothing coming out. You had a feeling that this was what Gajeel would say, but...but...

You begin to sob, covering your face with your grime-covered hands. You didn't want him to love you. His love was...sick. Twisted. The kind of thing you would hear about in a horror anime. Unbeknownst to you, Gajeel frowns.

"Shhhh..."


	3. Part 3

He didn't like to see her cry. He didn't want that. No, he didn't. He wanted his little angel to be happy. Happy with him, so they could live the rest of their lives together. But how to make that happen? By force? He had just tried that, and it didn't seem to be working. In fact, the only good thing that had come out of locking up (y/n) in his basement and killing Natsu was that his rival was gone. And that she seemed to be too scared of him to want to leave. But, like he had thought...he didn't want her to be scared. He wanted her to be joyous, bubbily with laughter, laughter that stemmed because of good times together.

But...cruel fate, had to twist every one of his desires. She hated him. He knew that well, for she had voiced it again and again over the next few days of being locked in his cellar. The thought made his stomach churn, and sometimes, it made him angry, but never for long. No, never for very long. He couldn't stay mad at his angel, his...iron rose.

Something needed to change, then. Something needed to happen to help show (y/n) that he truly did care for her, that he truly was willing to go to the ends of the earth and back for her. But what? How could he prove his affections? Especially when she seemed to believe that the reason he had done what he did was out of pure hatred, despite his constant insistence that it was for love.

Gajeel frowned, being brought out of his thoughts by the sound of soft wailing lower down in his basement. (Y/n) was sad again. A feeling in his gut twisted into knots, churning and turning and making him feel overall extremely uncomfortable. He hated the sounds of her sadness. But what could he do?

He let out a sigh, his steely crimson eyes softening for just a brief moment. He'd have to try and feed her again. Hopefully she wouldn't reject it this time, or throw it into his face. His eyes narrowed just a bit at the thought of that, slight irritation rolling through his rugged physique. Soon, he promised himself. Soon it wouldn't be like this. Soon she would beg for her food, and cry for him to come down and give her attention. And when that happened, he could unchain her, and they could be together. Happily ever after. He just needed to wait.

* * *

You open your eyes, slowly stretching your muscles and once more adjusting to the dim lighting of the basement room. You feel hopeless, a strange misery rising and taking hold of you in your very core. It has been about a week or so since you first arrived in your stone prison. A week since you had found out about Natsu's death. And a week since you had tried to the best of your ability to start planning an escape. That last part, however, was something that was still...unhelpful. A futile day dream, a fantasy of freedom. Not something you could actually have, unless...unless Gajeel unchained you. But that wasn't likely to happen.

The aura around you screams of despair and anxiety, your breaths ragged. You run a finger over your chapped lips, feeling them crack in certain places as you moved them. You close your eyes. You need water, it's obvious. And Gajeel had been offering it to you. But you hadn't been accepting it- it would be _crazy_ to! The food and drink he had been giving you, for all you knew, could have been laced with poison or some kind of weird aphrodisiac he would use to get you to have sex with him. That is, if he was serious about "loving" you. But, for your own sake, you hoped he was not.

The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs alerts you to Gajeel's presence, and you look up, watching him descend towards you.

"..." He has a stern look on his face, one that tells you he's going to say something important. Something that could be, perhaps, dangerous, if you didn't listen. You gulp slowly, waiting some kind of terrifying new development in your situation. But, after a few moments in silence, you realize that there is none. Gajeel is simply standing in front of you, holding a tray with a bowl of some kind of cereal, and some berries. Inhaling slightly through your nose, you come to the conclusion that it doesn't smell half bad.

"...You need to eat, and drink, (y/n)." Gajeel's gruff voice all at once breaks through the strenuous silence. A shiver runs down your spine and you inch backwards until you feel your back connect with the stone wall.

"I-I," you croak, fear nearly paralyzing your small body, "I c-can't."

Gajeel's eyes narrow a bit and he takes a step towards you.

"You _need_ to," he says. "If you can't stomach the food and drink that I've made and collected for you, you will die of thirst or starvation before very much longer. You're getting weaker, dearest rose. You are wasting away. I don't want that. Now, up until this point, I've simply been giving you food and then leaving, but that's no longer an option for me. I'm going to feed you by hand if I must." The corner of your lip curls down into a scowl, but you say nothing. You know that if you do, it could anger him, and if he gets angered...well...you don't know what might happen. He could hurt you, or someone else. The latter was what scared you the most.

"Now...eat." He sets the tray down on the floor next to your feet, then sits down in front of you, his legs crossed and a determined look spreading across his face. The tension in the air begins to rise, bit by bit.

Eventually, you begin to tremble, looking deep into the eyes of your captor.

Then, you break.

"O-Okay..." you say weakly, taking the spoon and scooping up some of the cereal, spooning the small bit of food into your mouth. It feels foreign, yet, at the same time, has a natural taste to it. It doesn't look like it has been tampered with. Slowly, you chew. Gajeel watches intently as you swallow, then reach for another bite. This process repeats until the cereal is gone, and the only thing left on your tray are the berries. You look down. A soft red in color, you can now recognize them as raspberries. Hesitantly, you reach one hand out and take one of them, lifting it up to your mouth. The scent is a little off- most likely, they haven't been stored in a cool place so they're riper than a regular berry picked at harvest time.

"...Eat it. Please." You stiffen a little at Gajeel's sudden command, but then, your hesitation melting away, you slip it into your mouth. As your teeth break through the soft skin, letting the slightly tart insides of the berry coat your tongue, you relax. Just a bit. Gajeel, it seems, is not trying to poison you. So you eat the rest. Once everything is gone, Gajeel reaches out and takes the tray back.

"Good," he says. "We're working on this. One step at a time. I'll see you soon." Then he leaves, and you are left to wonder what is going through his head, and what the next step might be. You only hope it'll be something bearable.


	4. Part 4

"Hey, Gajeel! Have you seen (y/n)?" Lucy, with a look of worry in her eyes, looked at Gajeel, who instantly stiffened. He should have known that people were going to be asking for you, that people would be curious as to where you had gone. Despite the fact that you had had very few friends in Fairy Tail, people did remember you. And one of them happened to be Lucy. Running a hand through his hair, Gajeel chuckled, just the slightest hint of nervousness in his voice.

"No," he lied. "I haven't seen her. The last I heard of her, she had gone on a job with Natsu. It's been a couple of weeks since they've been back here, right?" He feigned a look of worry. "...What if something happened to them?" Lucy let out a soft gasp, her chocolate-brown eyes becoming watery."

"I-I...what...? No! That's impossible! Natsu and (y/n) are strong! And Natsu's one of the most powerful wizards here! There's no way something could have happened to them, not when he's so protective of (y/n)! But... But...what if something...what if something _did_ happen?! What are we going to do, Gajeel?! We have to look for them!" Gajeel's brow furrowed, and he looked at Lucy in concern. If they did start a search party, it could backfire if there was any trace of Natsu or (y/n) leading back to his house. He could be sent to prison, or executed for murder. And then... then he would never see his precious (y/n) again. But on the other hand... if he was careful enough, he could make sure that they never found (y/n). He could make sure that the trail went cold, without a trace of anyone of importance, and thus "prove" himself innocent. If that would work. He wasn't sure what would work.

Gajeel cleared his throat. "I'm not sure what we should do, exactly, but you're right. We should look for them. I'll tell Master Makarov that they're missing. But, in the meantime, you should go home. Maybe there's some kind of clue as to where Natsu went, there. I know he likes to crash at your place, maybe he left something indicating where he went. Maybe the job paper is there." Lucy nodded slowly, and quickly walked off, heading out of the guild hall and quietly shutting the door. As soon as she was gone, Gajeel sighed, instantly knowing that he had made a mistake. He shouldn't have encouraged the girl to look for Natsu, because now she was going to be in his way, looking for Natsu and (y/n). And if they found her...everything would fall apart. His eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. He would have to make sure that Lucy was on the wrong track. He would have to make sure that she never found a trace of them...but how to do that?

Then, it came to him. He would simply get rid of her. It was a simple solution- he would kill Lucy, bury her where no one could ever find her, and then he and (y/n) would have more time before the trail became hot again. He did know that killing her wouldn't solve everything, but it would buy them enough time for him to get her somewhere...safe. He already had an idea of where he could keep (y/n). Somewhere dark, damp, not cold, but cozy. There was a cave about ten miles out of Magnolia that he and Metallicana had previously used for training- though it had been years since he had used it, there were still some accommodations that he could put to good use. Blankets, a fireplace, and a lot of dried goods that (y/n) could eat if she got hungry. All in all, it seemed like a pretty good plan. So he grinned. Now, he just had to figure out how to move his love without being noticed by anyone.

 _I can do it at night..._ Yes, that seemed like a good idea. He would have to bind and gag her so she couldn't make much noise while he carried her, and though it might not be the most comfortable, it would work. (y/n) wouldn't be able to make any noise to alert anyone to her presence. Which was a good thing. Now, he just had to wait for the right time...

* * *

"W-...Where are you taking me, Gajeel?" You had awoken to to your captor's arms curling around you, scooping you up into a position where your head was laying on his chest. It felt almost...nice. Had the circumstances been different, and you were not being held here against your will, you might have found the gesture a bit comforting. But this was far from comforting.

"We're going some place safe, don't worry, (y/n)," Gajeel murmured lowly. His voice was raspy, and it nearly sent a shiver down your spine. Despite how careful he was being, making sure not to hurt you, the fact that he was, all of a sudden, seeming so gentle was...frightening. You knew now that at any given moment, he could snap, and you would be put into a world of pain. He had nearly broken your arm the last time it had happened- you had been crying in your sleep, calling out Natsu's name- and he had not taken it well. Just as you were about to ask him another question, he put a gag over your mouth, preventing you from making any noise other than muffled whimpers.

 _Where is he taking me?!_

You had no idea, and, even if you did, you weren't sure that you would want to know. Fear began to course through your veins and you started to struggle, writhing around, pushing at Gajeel's chest and kicking with your legs at anything your body could come into contact with.

"Mmph! Murph!" You tried your best, trying to get free of his iron grip, but it didn't work.

"Stop fucking struggling!" Gajeel snarled, his loud voice scaring you into submission and sending more shivers down your spine. Tears pricked at your eyes, and you slowly breathed out, stopping your movements and eventually going limp in the man's arms. Great, you were showing weakness...the tears that had pricked at your eyes now began to roll freely down your cheeks, and you let out a muffled wail. You were never going to escape.

"Shhhhh..." Gajeel whispered. "It's time to go."

Then everything went black.


End file.
